The Sports Xchange By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Servicex Danica Patrick: Will romance affect the way she races Ricky Stenhouse Jr.? Distributed by The Sports Xchange DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Now that Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have acknowledged their romantic relationship, inquiring minds want to know how the boyfriend and girlfriend will race against each other in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Both Patrick and Stenhouse are...

Last February, an explosion rocked the small screen. At the conclusion of an enjoyably tense two-parter, "Grey's Anatomy" blew up an emergency rescue worker played by Kyle Chandler. It wasn't just that Chandler's character quite memorably exploded into pink mist (thanks to a bomb that had been lodged inside a patient's body). The real fireworks surrounded the show itself. By airing the first half of that two-parter after last year's Super Bowl, ABC launched "Grey's"...

Things to know about our book club The Inquiring Minds Book Group was started 16 years ago by a teacher going on maternity leave who wanted to keep connected to friends and create opportunities for intellectual stimulation. We pride ourselves on in-depth conversations as well as the diversity of ages and backgrounds in our group. We are also very open when it comes to our reading choices. Author we'd like to meet Rebecca Skloot, author of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Nancy Carew and her class of 2nd graders are studying the number 10. On the chalkboard she draws four sets of numbers: 7-3, 6-4, 5-5, 4-6. "What can you tell me about these numbers?" asks the Oak Glen Elementary School teacher. Tiny fingers flutter in the air. "They all equal 10," one pupil replies correctly. The next task is to determine which numbers follow the sequence on the board. Quickly they come up with the answers: 3-7, 2-8 and 1-9. Carew lavishes praise on her...

Q: Why should I care about teacher pensions if I'm not a teacher? A: Because even though Illinois is putting $2.4 billion into the Teachers' Retirement System this year, that system still accounts for more than half of the state's estimated $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. And because a major change for TRS is a controversial element of the ambitious pension stabilization plan recently announced by Gov. Pat Quinn. Q: What's the change? ...

Inquiring minds: Here are key questions to ask when selecting your listing agent: Where are the homes you sold in the last six months and the names and phones of the sellers? What price can you get for my home? What is your marketing plan for my home? How long have you been selling homes?

Last February, an explosion rocked the small screen. At the conclusion of an enjoyably tense two-parter, "Grey's Anatomy" blew up an emergency rescue worker played by Kyle Chandler. It wasn't just that Chandler's character quite memorably exploded into pink mist (thanks to a bomb that had been lodged inside a patient's body). The real fireworks surrounded the show itself. By airing the first half of that two-parter after last year's Super Bowl, ABC launched "Grey's"...

Inquiring minds want to know: WLS-AM 890 morning gadflys Don Wade and Roma are off this week due to a "personal emergency" and station operations director Drew Hayes expects the pair to be back at work by the end of the week. "It's not a professional thing," stresses Hayes. In the meantime, midday host Roe Conn is filling in for Don and Roma.

Touchstone Pictures is using a desperate advertising plan (or scam) to sell tickets for "Primeval" (R), a horror flick opening Friday. Ads for "Primeval" promise a search for "the most prolific serial killer in history," credited with more than 300 kills in a remote part of the world. Wow, that sicko must be busy, and that place must be remote, since Court TV hasn't done a special yet. Gorehounds should be licking their bloody chops for a chance to see this person in action. However,...

Inquiring minds want to know why the Chicago Tribune regularly gives space to "Lottery Info: Computer analysis of Illinois Lottery numbers." Inquiring mathematicians say that in a fair lottery, any number has the same chance of being picked as any other, regardless of which numbers happen to have been picked in the past. Therefore, cynical minds want to know whether: (1) The Tribune doesn`t think the Illinois Lottery picks numbers randomly--that is, it's not fair; or (2) The Tribune wants to promote a...

MON 10/16 In brief With your long-standing love for abbreviated literature, you were shocked to learn Cliff of CliffsNotes wasn't an author. Get back in touch with truncated lit at a live taping of the National Public Radio program Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story. Isaiah Sheffer hosts the award-winning show as Steppenwolf ensemble members Martha Lavey and Jim True-Frost read stories about Chicago by Nelson Algren, Elizabeth Crane and Stuart Dybek. 7:30 p.m. $25. Steppenwolf Theatre Company,...

When I read that Frank Gehry thinks it's unimportant whether people can see the stage if they sit in the back of his band-shell area, it makes me want to cry ("Steel appeal; Frank Gehry talks about his new band shell that's taking shape and turning heads in Millennium Park." Arts & Entertainment, July 6). I could see and hear everywhere at Petrillo, and it was beautiful besides--the quintessential Chicago summer evening under the stars. Why did we need this new building and its incongruence with the rest of the...

The affair ended a long time ago. It was great while it lasted, but you went your separate ways. And yet, all these years later, you still have a certain longing. A longing for . . . your records. Your books. That family heirloom that you gave your love in an impetuous moment and never saw again. A lot of us may recall something we brought into a relationship and, well, wish we had not left behind. Or that we received and didn't give back. We'd like you to tell us about yours. Our...

The caller announced himself as an "old friend" and noted that he hadn't been in touch for quite a while. He was moved to call on this particular day, June 8, because of a glaring omission he detected in the day's Chicago Tribune. We had failed, he said, to take any notice of the coronation on June 8, 1867, of Franz Joseph as king of Hungary. "I don't know what it is you have against Franz Joseph," the man said in his phone message. "His birthday, his death day never come up [in the Tribune]

By Andy Argyrakis. Andy Argyrakis is a metromix special contributor | November 24, 2004

Minnie Driver had a good run in the late '90s. She had a string of box office hits with "Circle of Friends," "Good Will Hunting" and "Grosse Pointe Blank," and the tabloids were fascinated with the star's romantic links to John Cusack, Matt Damon and former fiance Josh Brolin. But, ah, what a fickle bunch the Hollywood tastemakers are. Sure, Driver has landed roles in movies as of late, most notably 2003's sleeper "Owning Mahowny" and the family-friendly "Ella Enchanted," but it doesn't quite...